When
Elizabeth I died (1603), the Stuarts inherited the English
throne, bringing with them a strong belief in the divine right
of kings. At the same time, Puritans were gaining ground in
Parliament, and the mix was explosive; civil war ensued. The
king, Charles I, was defeated, and later beheaded by a radical
arm of Parliament. Oliver Cromwell took over the country,
attempting but failing to create a republic. Several years
passed before the monarchy and Church of England were restored.
During this difficult time a group of Anglicans known as the
Caroline (relating to Charles) Divines was building on the work
of Richard Hooker to further define the Anglican “middle way.”
Like Hooker, they saw Anglicanism as a return to the simplicity
and order of the primitive Church. These men, by their
scholarship, courage, and purity of life, preserved the English
Church and created a foundation on which future generations
would build.

John Donne was associated with this group of
churchmen. The son of a Roman Catholic ironmonger, Donne had a
troubled, reckless youth. After studying at both Oxford and
Cambridge, he became a lawyer, working as the secretary to Sir
Thomas Egerton. He enjoyed the high life, and became popular
among the elite through his flattering poetry. But he left in
disgrace after it was discovered that he had secretly married
Egerton’s niece. The years that followed were difficult, and
Donne turned to writing religious poetry. Eventually he became
Anglican, and after a number of years, and much persuasion, was
ordained a priest. It was then that Donne said his spiritual
conversion began: as he immersed himself in Scripture, prayer,
and the Church Fathers, his heart caught fire. His once
cavalier attitude was transformed into a deep love and fervor
for God, his talent now poured into brilliant sermons and
poetry. He became noted for his “divine sonnets” and
passionately wrote of the love of God. His most famous lines
were penned as he thought he was dying: “Never send to know for
whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

John Donne became the dean of St. Paul’s
Cathedral. Our window shows
him in the pulpit, preaching, with the seal of the dean shown
below. The eagle on the pulpit
symbolizes Donne’s soaring oratory, through which many lives
were profoundly changed.